When harvesting grain, a combine harvester (also known simply as a “combine”) may be used to separate grain from material-other-than-grain (“MOG”). Harvested grain is typically stored on the combine for subsequent handling, and MOG is typically ejected back onto the crop field.
In some cases, the MOG may be useful as feed for animals or as biofuel, among other things. Thus, once the crop has been harvested and the MOG is left on the field, a windrower may be moved through the field to gather the MOG, shred it into smaller, more uniform pieces, and windrow the shredded material. In the case of corn, for example, the windrower may cut standing stover and accelerate the cut material to an auger that merges and discharges the shredded material into a windrow on the ground that trails the windrower. A baler may, in turn, be moved along each windrow to gather the shredded MOG and form bales of the material for subsequent use.
In other cases, a crop such as switch grass, miscanthus, sugar cane, or other vegetative crop may be grown for use as biofuel. In such cases, the field may be mowed and windrowed, and the cut material (which, for example, may include the whole plant—both grain and MOG) may be baled for subsequent transport and processing.
In either scenario, windrowing and baling the material typically requires a dedicated tractor and operator for each machine. In addition, the cut material that has been placed in windrows on the ground may be susceptible to rain damage and/or contamination from dirt that may be picked up with the material during the baling operation. Moreover, not all of the material may be picked up for baling, which may result in yield loss.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system, apparatus, and method for combining the windrowing and baling operations such that the operations may occur during a single pass. In addition, there is a need for a system, apparatus, and method that maximizes the yield and quality of the cut material that is baled.